"The project focuses on the social inclusion of women wishing to develop their own business in trade and logistics through integration into entrepreneurship in the three partner countries (Bulgaria, Italy and the UK) through training for acquiring practical skills and competencies to generate financial, cultural and social value. The project partners have realized that there is a growing need for creative and innovative training approaches in women entrepreneurship to overcome the previous weaknesses. The main objectives of the project are achieved via the implementation of three intellectual outputs:1.Intellectual Output 2: Development of innovative training solutions on the women entrepreneurship and digital competences required for the trade and logistics developmentThis Output consisted of the creation of Women Entrepreneurship Self-Development Tools which are one of the main project intellectual outputs which were used for exploitation and mainstreaming. The developed training solutions were used by the wide audience for better match to labor market trade entrepreneurship demand. Innovative training solutions were designed which brought practical entrepreneurship trade skills for women into the training content; - were very practical, with up-to-date training content and easily transferable from the training room to the day-to-day world of work in trade and logistics; - were based on the new paradigm of doing global business and prevailing electronic communication; - covered also ""soft skills"" and ""attitudes"" as part of the whole management and operational competence.2.Intellectual Output 3: The work on Intellectual Output 3 - Platform for Knowledge Sharing and Good Practices Exchange and a Forum for Ideas Exchange - can be divided into several stages: • First stage: Development of a project website • Second stage: Platform development • Third stage: Placement of educational electronic content in the platform. In summary, the following results can be indicated as achieved: - developed website of the project - developed forum for exchange of ideas - developed e-learning training platform - over 120 explained keywords and concepts - over 1.5 hours of recorded video lessons - over 300 pages of digitized presentations - over 150 test questions - over 25 pages of developed assignments - over 200 pages of electronic content in pdf format.3.Intellectual Output 4: Once the work on the E-learning training platform was completed, it was ready for testing by the students and he participants from the three partner countries. It was decided that the platform would be tested by a minimum of 150 people, 50 from each country. At the same time, a questionnaire was developed and approved by the partners to assess the satisfaction with the testing of the e-learning content introduced in the platform. The Bulgarian partner and coordinator had to test the system on site in a controlled learning environment.The testing was attended by over 80 students majoring in ""Economics of the Trade"" from the Academy of Economics ""D. A. Tsenov ”, over 60 participants from the United Kingdom and over 30 students from Italy. As a result, between 159 and 180 tests were performed in the system of all 9 modules. Below we present summary statistics on the online work of the experts and participants. There can be highlighted the following more important aspects: Significant attention from those wishing to be tested is paid to the Introduction and Methods of teaching and learning - 1473 views; - Topics have been read over 3358 times. - The video lessons and the presentation have been viewed over 2900 times. - The introduced tests have been reviewed over 9000 times which shows a strong desire to achieve higher results than the tested. - The certificate has been viewed over 200 times. - Over 160 questionnaires have been processed and summarized. On the base of the results of Intellectual Output 2, a joint training seminar took place in London, the UK. All participants in the training seminar were selected through a rigorous selection procedure and criteria approved by the three partner organizations. The working language of the training was English. During the training seminar, the participants were introduced to the main features of entrepreneurship, in particular women's entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurial process, the requirements for structuring a business plan, the possibilities for financing a business, etc. In addition to getting acquainted with the theoretical background in the field of entrepreneurship, the participants developed a business plan on a predefined topic.At the end of the project final virtual conference was organized with the participation of 150 local stakeholders and 50 foreigner participants. During the conference the results of the project were discussed and were outlined plans for future cooperation between the project partners."

<< Objectives >>The general objective is to present implications and introducing solutions of circular economy challenges in an adapted way bringing together students from various social categories with focus on those who are discouraged and lagging behind their peers.The specific objectives are:-Exploring the components of circular economy from teachers’ perspective -Exploring the components of circular economy from students’ perspective-Exploring circular economy challenges to business and wider society<< Implementation >>The project will include preparation and realization of sets of seminars and workshops where students, teachers and partner staff will exchange views, applicable approaches and experience. These events will be accompanied by summary documents fixing the expressed views and achievements. The main thematic workshops will be transnational.<< Results >>The project will have the following results:- Development of Reference book on Circular Economy for teachers- Development of Repertory on Circular Economy for students- Development of Handbook on Circular Economy Challenges to business and society- Organization of 6 joint workshops- Organization of meetings with business experts- Organization of 12 local dissemination events - Organization of joint final events

"<< Background >>SME entrs. (especially younger ones) want to contribute to society within a commercially driven business that does follow a social approach. Such specific blended approach towards mixed for-profit & non-profit approach is however not taught anywhere. It’s either pure entrepreneurship or social economy, but no Vocational education and training (VET) offers blended social commercial entrepreneurship as part of their curriculum in Business and Entrepreneurship subjects. Needs are confirmed by the recent report on State of the social enterprises 2018 . As a coordinator we are also addressing the above mentioned problem as stated in the latest EU report for implementation of social enterprises in Bulgaria. Further analysis on this topic are also reviewed and the proposal is dully aligned on their conclusions (see attached Need analysis document with reference and justification of the need). For example: Social supermarkets are a great example of a social enterprise. A place where food is sold to low-income communities at a discount price. That food is either donated by food suppliers or purchased very cheaply. Something like that can be very helpful for the local society. Another example is: Social Crowdfunding is another very interesting and very modern type of social enterprise. Using the internet people can find everything. Why not use it to get funding for their ideas? There are always people willing to help others make their dreams come true. Building a social crowdfunding platform is a truly helpful way to make some profit and give people a chance to help each other. Another possibility is the Micro-Lending. Creating a platform that allows people to lend money to the entrepreneur that would not, otherwise, get the funding they need. Starting a business is difficult without an original capital especially in Balkan countries. The increase of the functional social commercial enterprises will further extend the opportunities for labour market inclusion of people with disabilities (evident from February 2019 global report of Int. Labour organisation ).AIMS AND OBJECTIVESThe core idea is to develop pan-European social commercial entrepreneurial training curriculum (EQF level 4 &5) & course material for VET that assists VET students in Business and SME entrepreneurs to engage in & ""absorb"" social entrepreneurship aspects throughout VET entire business workflow. This will be accompanied with a mobile training app that will make use of a range of educative case studies, interconnected with theoretical approaches.This project aims to foster the innovative approach by embedding the commercial social entrepreneurship as a concept into the recent entrepreneurial courses in VET for students in the field of Business and Entrepreneurship. In this respect we use the definitions of soc. entrepreneurship range from broad to narrow.-Broad: soc. entrepreneurship refers to innovative activity with soc. objective in for-profit sector (e.g., Dees & Anderson, 2003) or corporate soc. entrepreneurship (e.g., Austin, Leonard, Reficco & Wei-Skillern, 2004); or non-profit sector, or across sectors (hybrid structural forms which mix for-profit & non-profit approaches (Dees, 1998)).-Narrow: soc. entrepreneurship refers to phenomenon of applying business expertise & market-based skills in the non-profit sector such as when non-profit organizations develop innovative approaches to earn income (Thompson, 2002).Apart from commercial businesses that want to introduce social economy aspects within their businesses, the project also addresses pure social enterprises as COM-SET outcomes are relevant for them as well. To avoid any confusion, when we talk about “social enterprises”, we use the SBI (Social Business Initiative) definition: A social enterprise is an operator in the social economy whose main objective is to have a social impact rather than make a profit for their owners or shareholders. N.B. see section Annexes - Need analysis document.<< Objectives >>TARGET GROUPSThe project mainly targets VET educational staff (lecturers, teachers, trainers) that aim to integrate social economy aspects within mainstream entrepreneurial VET training courses. Core beneficiaries are: VET students, VET trainers, SME decision makers (entrepreneurs) that aim to integrate a social approach within their current business practices. In general, social entrs. are more likely to be younger, more highly educated & perceive legitimation of entrs. in society differently than their 100% commercial counterparts. As an outcome from the establishment and functioning of more commercially oriented social enterprises the people with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups (i.e. NEETs) are addressed since they benefit from the paradigm change (employability) and the social economy sector.SOLUTIONCOM-SET project will embed concepts of Social Business Initiative (Social economy & entrepreneurship ) with commercial entrepreneurship, embracing characteristics of a social enterprise. COM-SET will thrive to stimulate young entrepreneurs and also those, who are studying at VET centers in the field of Business and Entrepreneurship to manage companies in a more open & responsible manner, in particular involving also employees from disadvantages groups (disabilities, minorities, low skilled, etc.).Expected Impact:-Blended commercial/soc. entrepreneurship is relevant to all EU countries.-A multitude of SME entrs. can embed soc. elements in their business.-Blended entrepreneurship aspect is recognised increasingly as a crucial impact for Europe's SME entreprises.<< Implementation >>For the realisation of the project results the following activities and leading roles are planned:PR1 - Methodologies and approaches:-Brainstorming-Best/good practices-Focus groups with stakeholders and end-usersKey performance indicators:-KPI 1: Knowledge and good practice widely spread among HE pedagogical staff on EU level-KPI 2: Minimum 60 students/4 lecturers / country-KPI 3: Minimum 10 case studies per country-KPI 4: Minimum 5 publications per country where the case studies could be disseminated-KPI 5: Minimum 500 visitors of project portal-KPI 6: Spread of innovative approaches from country to country and their integration into common practice-KPI 7: Pedagogical staff in the learning communities to become aware, ready and willing to practice project results (e.g. collaborative pedagogical methods, one-to-one support etc.)-KPI 8: Visible engagement of local communities-KPI 9: Provision of guidance, services and mechanisms that supports implementation of social commercial entrepreneurship deployed by Vocational education institutions.PR1 Tasks:A1: Preparation of detailed outline for curriculum development according to ECVET principles - lead by P4 with contribution by all partners (M1 - M4)A2: Development of draft version of the modular content - lead by P1 with specific contribution by each partner as stated below (M5 - M12)Module 1: lead by P1Module 2: lead by P2Module 3: lead by P2Module 4: lead by P4Module 5: lead by P5Module 6: lead by P3Module 7: lead by P5A3: Development of pre- and post- assessment tests - each author of module (M12-M13)A4: Validation by representatives of National Advisory Board members and focus groups - lead by each partner (M13-M14)A5: Pilot implementation in Bulgaria, Turkey and Belgium - lead by P1+P2 (TR), P3 (BG) and P4 (BE) - covered by project management and implementation budget (M15-M20)A6: Gathering feedback and analysis for optimisation - lead by P1 (M21-22)PR2: Applied methodology:The technical framework of both the online and mobile platform will be based on a Moodle framework which will be customised and localised, while also supportive plugins will be developed. This allows for third parties to easily upload COM-SET training and course material to their own learning platforms.Technical characteristics/features of the portal:•Internet-based platform (Moodle (LMS)/Mobile app combination), developed with state-of-art and modern Web development frameworks and tools.•Understandable functionality with low learning curve•Secure communication and access channels•Full activity logging for accountability and error fixing•Multiple languages (EN, BG, TR, NL)PR2; Tasks:A1: Development of case studies – lead by P4 in cooperation by all partners (M3- M11)A2 Development of alpha/beta and final versions of the mobile app – lead by P4 and P3 + contribution by all partners on validation of the version (M6 - M11)A3: Gathering feedback from the NAB and customisation by each partner of the content based on the national requirements, circumstances and cultural differences – all partners (M12-M24)A4: Uploading of case studies and resources onto the mobile app (three testing cycles: alpha, beta and optimised versions) – lead by P3 (M12-M13)A5: Gathering feedback from the piloting participants by each partner and implementation of relevant changes – all partners to P4 (M21-M22)A6: Ongoing maintenance – lead by P4 (till M24)PR3: Applied methodology:-Storyboards-Capturing and editing-Mastering and productionPR3: Tasks:A1 - Development of story board of the videos - each partner will develop at least 2 videos (8 in total for the partnership) - M6-M8A2 - Design and recording of the videos - each responsible partner, while overall lead by P2 who will do the editing and mastering of each video - M9-M10A3 - Video editing and mastering - by P2 only! - M13-14A4 - Gathering feedback and optimisation - lead by P4 + contribution by all<< Results >>PR1: Pan-European multilingual set of “injectable social commercial entrepreneurial training modules”, following a predefined curriculum / course material & handbook for VET.This output will define the curriculum outline on the blended entrepreneurship which needs to be blendable with existing business and entrepreneurship courses across the participating educational institutions. Equally, it needs to support projects of social entrepreneurship. Important also is that the curriculum needs to address the large diversity in functions and activities that are expected of the future blended social/commercial entrepreneurs, while it also needs to consider the large diversity of different types of social/commercial enterprises that may exist in different domains, each with their specificities.The created curriculum will be fine-tuned throughout the project duration, using an iterative approach.The social entrepreneurship curriculum will contain those sections from mainstream entrepreneurial/strategy training where social aspects will be considered.Draft curricula (ELEMENTS OF INNOVATION):Module 1: Economics (micro/macro) - social and profitable1.1 Blended social entrepreneurship as a factor of production)1.2 The role of social economy in regional development1.3 The influence of social entrepreneurship on social economyModule 2: International management (international markets and cultures; multinational organisation; international payments) - sustainability2.1 International trade and sustainable development2.2 Management of multi-culturesModule 3: Marketing (sales, prices, consumers) - fair pricing3.1 E-marketing and fair pricing3.2 Consumer behavior & salesModule 4: Business management of the social enterprise (managing technologies, innovation, resources management, sustainable development, CSR, ethics and accountability) - Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)4.1 The role of CSR as a conflict management Instrument4.2 Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility on Business Management4.3 Resources management, creativity & innovationModule 5: Operations management (supply chain, innovation, IPR, Staff, Strategy) - Circular economy 5.1 Staffing in circular economy5.2 Organizing and structuring for international operationsModule 6: Managing accounting & finances (management accounting, ROI, Balance) - Social balance 6.1 Start-up financing for Social balance6.2 The role of management accounting to identify events for social balance6.3 The role of social economy in corporate finance6.4 The influence of social balance on corporate efficiency6.5 The role of financial statements in decision process for social balanceModule 7: Legislation (regulatory framework, national policies, entrepreneurship legislation)7.1 The role of legislation on intellectual property rights to encourage the entrepreneurs to employ people with disabilities7.2 The role of incentives and tax exemptions to encourage the entrepreneurs.PR2: Range of educative case studies on social commercial entrepreneurship interconnected with theoretical approaches, hosted via a multilingual online and mobile training platform/apps (Android and iOS based)We plan to develop a range of educative case studies, which will be connected to theoretical approaches from the ECVET based learning outcomes of the modular training curriculum and course, developed in PR1. Those case studies will help our learners to further understand and reflect on the specific topics from the curriculum, which needs further illustration via best practice examples.PR3: Engaging videos (storytelling) of good practices by socially oriented commercial entrepreneurs for each moduleThe aim of the engaging videos (storytelling) is to present structured and real cases and good practices by socially oriented entrepreneurs. Each video will be related to particular module from PR1."

<< Background >>The coronavirus pandemic is causing large-scale loss of life and severe human suffering globally. It is the largest public health crisis in living memory, which has also generated a major economic crisis, with a halt in production in affected countries, a collapse in consumption and confidence, and stock exchanges responding negatively to heightened uncertainties. Both international (ILO Monitor) and EU reports on Covid-19 and its effect on businesses show that worldwide employment in the sectors most at risk is strongly concentrated in firms with less than 10 employees, whereas vice versa the vast majority of employment in low risk sectors is in larger firms with more than 10 employees. For instance, in sectors such as wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, the share of firms with less than 10 employees is 70%, whereas in low risk sectors such as education, utilities and public administration the share is less than 20%.SMEs may have less resilience and flexibility in dealing with the negative effects of the pandemy . Costs for prevention as well as requested changes in work processes, such as the shift to teleworking, may be relatively higher for SMEs given their smaller size, but also, in many instances, the low level of digitalisation and difficulties in accessing and adopting technologies. If production is reduced in response to the developments, the costs of underutilised labour and capital weigh greater on SMEs than larger companies. Furthermore, SMEs may find it harder to obtain information not only on measures to halt the spread of the virus, but also on possible business strategies to lighten the shock, and government initiatives available to provide support.Some staggering numbers:· Bulgaria: 87,000 people (2.1% of the working population) were registered newly unemployed· Greece: 60% experience marked decline in sales; the share of microenterprises in the most affected sectors is 60%, · Turkey: 36% of micro- and small-scale companies have suspended their activities.· Belgium: 75% report declines in turnover; over 31% of Belgium SMEs may not survive the crisis. · Cyrpus: 69% of businesses expected a decrease in their company revenues and/or profits as a result of Covid-19.Moreover, a European survey suggested that only 56 percent of all companies with 50 or fewer employees provided remote access to email, applications, and documents for their employees, compared with 93 percent of all companies with more than 250 employees.Thus, the key challenges that SMEs are facing are the following:· Strategic: Finding new/alternative business opportunities, strategic planning and decision making in uncertain times and maintaining (inter-national) partnerships.· Operational: Staff working remotely, digitalisation of sales and marketing and overcoming logistical hurdles especially abroad.· Maintaining turnover: International sales decline, decreased demand.· Managing costs: Measures to effectively cut costs, managing planned and ongoing investments, fixed costs such as rent and salaries.Aim: The Project aims to provide educational materials to help micro-SMEs to identify and develop the new competitive skills, the new organizational forms, the new business process designs, the new organizational systems, the new functional skills and the new human resources profile that businesses will need in the pandemic and the post-pandemic period. By doing this, it is expected that the ability of micro-SMEs to cope with post-pandemic challanges, which its impact on them is more devastating due to liability of smallness, will increase.<< Objectives >>Aim: The Project aims to provide educational materials to help micro-SMEs to identify and develop the new competitive skills, the new organizational forms, the new business process designs, the new organizational systems, the new functional skills and the new human resources profile that businesses will need in the pandemic and the post-pandemic period. By doing this, it is expected that the ability of micro-SMEs to cope with post-pandemic challenges, which its impact on them is more devastating due to liability of smallness, will increase. The specific objectives of the project are as follows:Objective 1. Improving the ability of micro-SMEs to analyze the nature of the changing ecosystem during and after the pandemic post-pandemic and to develop the new managerial and organizational insight to find new ways to serve their customers and communities. Objective 2. Supplementing the educational programmes which train the potential entrepreneurs and managers for SMEs with the curriculum developed by the project partners that includes the new ways of doing business in the post pandemic period.Objective 3. Contributing to shaping the education and incentive policies of public institutions responsible for the development and competitiveness of micro-SMEs by educational material of the Project.<< Implementation >>The project follows a well-defined, comprehensive, and high-quality work plan, that involves the following steps: planning, development, testing and dissemination. This is also mirrored in the methodology that will be used for the development of the intellectual outputs that are involved in the proposal (see the related section of Project Results).a. Planning:It has started from the stage of proposal writing (needs analysis, PM plan, PRs steps of development, timetable, identification of target groups and related stakeholders), and will continue after the commence of the project with actual distribution of tasks to all partner organisations, with regards to Project Management (PM) and PRs development.b. Development:This stage will include activities that will include research (desktop and field) for the development of the content of training materials (PR1), identification of case studies (PR2) and identification of challenges and opportunities for SMEs (PR3); focus groups and interviews for getting input from related stakeholders; establishment of the training strategy and plan (PR4); undergoing activities related with PM.c. Testing (Pilot launch period):The project will include a “pilot launch period” with the implementation of PR1, PR2 and PR3. This is a trial period, in which sample groups will undertake courses of PR1 and use PR2 and PR3, after their registration to the initial platform release. They will provide to the scheme adequate data collection to implement testing and evaluation of the efficiency and adequacy of the material they have created, using quantitate and qualitative factors. Those will be based on the desired aim, objectives, results and impact. The collected feedback and conclusions will be elaborated, and if necessary, the PRs will be optimised based on the suggestions of the trainees. d. Dissemination:It will include the release to public of the final structure and content of PRs; the activation of all tools of the dissemination strategy in order to widen the audience and the impact of our project period and running of Multiplier Event.After the delivering of all project's tangible results and while monitoring the achieving impact the consortium can elaborate on the future perspective of the project.<< Results >>Within the framework of Intellectual Outputs development, the foreseen outcomes are:PR1: Coronomics ECVET compliant curriculum and course material training toolkitPR2: Video supported case database upon an integrated digital environment PR3: Coronomics whitepaper on challenges and opportunities for micro companiesPR4: Coronomics Learner LogbookWithin the framework of the Project management and implementation, the foreseen results are:-PM1 Partners agreements-PM2 Coronomics Work Plan-PM3 Interim and final reports that will be submitted to the Bulgarian National Agency.-PM4 Quality control framework and internal surveys and report forms.-PM5 Dissemination plan and materials-PM6 Minutes of meetings-PM7 Website.Intangible outcomes:-Developing the cooperative strategies for business and improving their skills to cooperate with different actors (public employment agencies, umbrella organizations, social service institutions, competitors, suppliers, financial institutions, and distribution channels etc.) that can help to overcome the crisis with the least damage during extraordinary periods such as pandemic. -Enhancing the ability of micro-SMEs to understand the changing customer demands and new customer needs arising from the new conditions.-Enhancing their adaptability skills in the digital technologies required by digitalization and remote working systems. -Increasing the capacity of the organization to restructure in accordance with digitalization and remote working systems (reconstructing the organizational chart depending on the degree of centralization of the organization and redefining the procedures depending on the degree of formalization in accordance with the new system).-Developing the skills of SMEs in redesigning human resources management processes (personnel recruitment and placement, training and development, performance evaluation, career management, etc.) in accordance with digitalization and remote working systems. -Developing their digital marketing strategies and online sales skills in accordance with digitization and remote working system. -Developing the innovation skills of SMEs in accordance with digitalization and remote working system. -Improving cost management skills in accordance with digitalization and remote working systems. -Increasing quality management skills in business processes in accordance with digitalization and remote working system.-Identifying new motivation systems suitable for digitalization and remote working system and providing employees with self-disciplinary skills.

"<< Background >>Eco-innovation refers to the development of products and adoption of processes contributing to sustainable development and significantly decreasing any negative environmental impact. This applies to any organisation and includes technological, social and institutional innovation. The importance of sustainable development and innovation is higher in small and medium-sized entreprises (SMEs), which cannot afford spending resources into traditional and unproductive processes. However, entrepreneurship is a key driver of economy and social prosperity in Europe and we cannot afford entrepreneurs losing their motivation and competing capacity in today's fast-moving economy. We need to make sure we equip entrepreneurs with strong foundations on the right set of skills and competencies and help them pursue innovative and sustainable means of working. This directly links to the adoption of innovative practices, taking advantage of all the tools offered in today's digital era. Sustainability cannot be separated from a sustainable environment and this is a cycle which entrepreneurs need to appreciate and invest in eco-innovation, achieving a global impact on EU objectives related to the environment and climate change.The ECO-VIBES team understands the positioning of the selected sectoral and horizontal priorities in the context of a more general EU framework on climate change & energy efficiency, with the goals revised into higher values for the 2030 targets. In addition, the objectives of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training, among others, have set the goal to make lifelong learning a reality and enhance creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship at all levels of education and training. At EU policy level, it is emphasised that ""...Europe is facing societal challenges at both short and long term: job creation and economic recovery must continue; social cohesion and inclusion must be enhanced; climate change and sustainability need to be tackled [...]. To do all that, Europe needs to address its citizens' expectations and concerns, including helping them make the most of the opportunities offered by the digital era and succeed in the global knowledge based economy. [...] Today, too many Europeans have only a low level of basic and some digital skills [...]. This will also underpin Europe's competitiveness and global economic sustainability if not addressed at its core.<< Objectives >>The ECO-VIBES project focuses in the Balkan Mediterranean area, where the percentage of and the importance of SMEs in the local/national economies is very high. These SMEs face strong challenges, especially in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship and environmental protection. Currently, investment in innovative or ""green"" products or services is very small. Furthermore, the recent economic crisis and the currently active COVID-19 pandemic increased unemployment and created the biggest brain-drain in the region in modern times, depriving SMEs and Higher Education Institutes from young and well educated personnel. Various initiatives have promoted eco-entrepreneurship, management and innovation, but have overlooked the required digital skills needed to implement eco-management and innovation. Many business owners lack confidence in basic digital skills while they are convinced that a lack of these skills amongst their staff is holding them back. These digital skills are crucial among existing SMEs. It is very important to revert the situation and aspire young eco-innovative SME owners and entrepreneurs, especially when entering in the ""green"" and/or ""blue"" economy, giving them competencies to create new added-value jobs, improving the area's competitiveness, ameliorating the brain-drain phenomenon, and contributing to the area's sustainable development.Digital entrepreneurship is broadly defined as creating new ventures and transforming existing businesses by developing novel digital technologies and/or novel usage of such technologies. Being digitally skilled is essential for SMEs who want their businesses to stay relevant and ahead of the competition. We aim at training the eco-entrepreneurs, who are and will be the new SME founders, in the digital skills listed in the following sections of the application, which will make the difference in turning their entrepreneurship into innovative.The ECO-VIBES project targets directly the following groups:- Existing and aspiring eco-entrepreneurs and startup owners- Young company (SME) owners- Entrepreneurial and SME networksMoreover, the project targets indirectly the following:-Students in Economy and Business departments of Universities/Colleges- Providers of education/training material for digital skills and business innovation- Policy makers in environmental sustainability of businessesBeyond the targeted groups, the project will benefit the diversified client base of the targeted entrepreneurs and the society as a whole.<< Implementation >>The ECO-VIBES project plans to produce 4 tangible project results:-PR1: ECVET compliant ECO-VIBES Course Curriculum-PR2: ECO-VIBES e-Course Modules-PR3: ECO-VIBES Digital Simulation Environment to facilitate the Training/Learning, Assessment and Reflection Experience-PR4: ECO-VIBES Case-based Adoption Handbook for a sustainable Training/Learning ImplementationEach result will be produced through a set of well defined tasks that will implement the methodology through a sequence of steps and intermediate tools. Moreover, Project Management and Implementation (PMI) activities will be undertaken, as discussed in the respective section of the application, towards high quality and on time delivery of all outputs.In its two years of operation, the project will effectively execute the planned tasks and deliver the outputs. The horizontal coordination, dissemination, monitoring, communication and other PMI activities, will facilitate the whole process, making sure the project objectives are met. The partners will commit to the Grant Agreement through mandate letters and bilateral agreements with the coordinating organisation, thus establishing the required framework for the co-ownership of the project and its outputs. The technical activities will be monitored, also ensuring correct financial monitoring for the optimal use of EU tax-payers money. The objective is to produce the results within budget and timeplan. The communication and cooperation will be facilitated by the project transnational meetings (online and face to face). The coordinator, together with the organisers of the meetings, will ensure the effective cooperation of people from different countries and cultural backgrounds, to working jointly in the production of outputs; the results need to be applicable across EU member states.The intermediate results will be reviewed internally and by stakeholders throughout their production lifetime. The quality will be safeguarded due to the planned evaluation activities, as well as the risk management and mitigation planning. The dissemination activities will ensure that the project objectives and expected outcomes are widely and effectively communicated to all types of project stakeholders; addressing each one through appropriate channels and messages. The exploitation and sustainability activities will ensure engagement of stakeholders and uptake of project results beyond its duration, safeguarding the return on the EU investment. The communication with the funding Agency and the necessary financial and activity reporting processes, will be undertaken in full compliance with the Erasmus+ rules, to maintain trust and good work and financial relations in the partnership.The production of each result will be achieved through a series of well planned tasks: The work will start with PR1, the ECVET-compliant Curriculum. The already defined structure of the curriculum (see PR1 description) will be subject to revisions and refinements at the beginning of the project. Then, the e-Course content will be produced as PR2 with quality as a priority. The content will consist of textual as well as audiovisual learning objects for increased engage-ability. In the case of learning objects taken from third projects, effort will be made for the sources to be legitimate and trusted. All material will be translated and localised in all partner languages, beyond the EN that is the working language of the project. This will help maximise engagement and sustainability. PR3 will create the interactive simulation environment, aiming to attract learners and engage them in the training/learning experience, as well as facilitate assessment and reflection. The material will be translated and hosted on a browser-based Web/Mobile Platform. Finally, a set of case-based guideline books (Handbooks) will be produced in PR4, thus completing the list of results required to achieve the adoption of the material along the dimensions HAVE, KNOW, WANT.<< Results >>We summarise below the results of the ECO-VIBES project:PR1: ECVET compliant ECO-VIBES Course Curriculum. An early structure of the training content is:-Module 0: Pre-assessment of trainees' digital skills-Module 1: Impact of digital skills on eco-innovative business models-Module 2: Where do digital skills matter for eco-optimised business models (supply side, internal usage, customer side with trends of green movement, policy layer covering environmental legislation and GDPR aspects)-Module 3: What digital tools to use and for what purpose (sustainability footprint, goals, initiatives and progress, digital sustainable supply chains, etc.), Integrated sales and invoicing systems via online paperless sales platform - OSS free software to support e-commerce, use of cloud services for storage and sharing, communication, collecting and analysing data, digital marketing via various channels, including social media channels, GDPR compliant operation.-Module 4: Self assessment (how ready are you with your digital skills?)-Module 5: Advance digital skills and tools in 21st technology era (coding, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and tools with these topics)PR2: ECO-VIBES e-Course Modules: complete indicative content for each of the Curriculum Modules. Each Module will comprise at least 2 Units (the average number of Units in such Curricula is 3), where the topic will be addressed substantially, giving emphasis to the practical aspects and the direct applicability of the background theory. The content of each Module will comprise textual and/or audio-vidual information, as to be deemed necessary for the spherical coverage of the topic and the attractiveness and engage-ability of the content. PR3 - ECO-VIBES Digital Simulation Environment to facilitate the Training/Learning, Assessment and Reflection Experience: A digital simulation environment that will host 3 pre-designed scenarios to promote the acquisition of ECO-VIBES knowledge, skills and competences, as well as implement an engaging assessment experience and a ground for reflection and improvement. The digital simulation environment will be developed as a full-featured Web application with a mobile-first design, based on a Platform offered by EUROCY developed on the Django Python stack.PR4 - ECO-VIBES Case-based Adoption Handbook for a sustainable Training/Learning Implementation: a package of resources that, together, will ensure that each ECO-VIBES stakeholder knows exactly what the project provides as results and how they can use them and benefit from them by using them as a spherical training/learning experience or individually.The software results are based on widely used Open Source Software licensing schemes, which makes it convenient for the scope of our project.During the project duration, the project results will be applied in Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus, in cooperation with the local stakeholders and beneficiaries. All outputs will be available in all partner languages, to maximise the exploitability and sustainability potential.Further to the above tangible outputs, one big event will be organised, which will plant the seeds for a multiplying exploitation effect."